Noche Mexicana

On September 15th and 16th Mexico celebrated it's Independence from Spain. Yes, the Mexican equivalent to the 4th of July is not 5 de Mayo! The Prince of Peace church held a "Noche Mexicana", where everyone participated in some way, either by: decorating the patio, dressing up in traditional Mexican clothing, singing Christian songs with a Mexican flair, performing traditional Mexican dances, a puppet show telling the story of the beginning of the fight for independence, and selling traditional Mexican foods.

The community was invited to attend as well, and there were many visitors. The purpose was to reach out to the community and invite them to the Church for a non-threatening social event, and to raise funds to finish several work projects at the church.

Traditionally at midnight (Mexico City Time) a leader will call out the names of the principal people involved in the start of the Revolution, and the crowd will yell, "Viva" in response. The final yell is "Viva Mexico." At the church, Pastor Isaac added "Viva Cristo" to remember the religious freedoms we enjoy in Mexico, made possible by the freedom won from Spain. And to celebrate the Spiritual freedom we enjoy won for us by Christ.

To see more photos from the Noche Mexicana, click on the link in the lower right hand side of the page.

Karissa makes Profession of Faith

Karissa makes Profession of Faith at the Prince of Peace Church.

September 9th was a special day for our family. Karissa has wanted to make profession of faith and join the church for several years, but for various reasons, no new members classes were started. This spring, she and three other young people joined a catechism class. Along with friends Angelica Flores, Misael Escudero, and Andres Escudero, Karissa joined the church in a special service on Sunday night. After becoming members, Karissa and friend Lesly Giron, sang a special song to give thanks. Andres and his sister Diamandy also sang a song of praise they had written for the occasion. After the service we all enjoyed cake and ice cream, celebrating two birthdays as well, Marcia Geurink and Sanson Escudero.

The Prince of Peace congregation has a goal of becoming an organized church within two years. Adding new members is a step towards that goal. They will also be training elders and deacons, and the pastor, Isaac Rodriguez is taking steps to be ordained.

To see more pictures from Karissa's profession of faith, click on the link in the lower right side bar.

What's Hot?

Greetings from sunny and HOT Tijuana. Monday morning when we arrived at the Agua Viva mission for the 10:00 Bible study, the temperature was already 105 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time we left at 11:30 it was 113! There is no electricity yet, so no fans either. We were glad that four of the regular ladies came to the study, this shows the kind of interest they have in learning about the Bible and their new life in Christ.
Today it is a little cooler, but still in the 90's. Pray for the family that is staying at the mission: Ramon and Alma, and their four children. It has been difficult the last few weeks with such intense heat. They have not complained and are a real blessing.
Please take a look at our photo album for the new mission. There is a link in the side bar on the right side of the page. Just click on the Agua Viva Photo Album and you will be directed to the site. We plan to keep adding pictures as we are able.

"Agua Viva" Mission in Ojo de Agua, Tijuana

July 30, 2007
“Agua Viva” Mission
The new mission “Agua Viva” (Living Water) in the community of Ojo de Agua (Springs of Water) had its grand opening on June 13th with a with a vision clinic and puppet ministry from Hillcrest CRC of Hudsonville, MI. Close to 150 people had their eyes checked and were given glasses if they needed them. In the evening the puppet team gave an evangelistic program. Since then we have been holding Bible Studies each Wednesday evening.
Work at “Agua Viva,” the 10th church plant in Tijuana began earlier this spring. The land had to be leveled, filled, and compacted. The members from many of the Mexican Reformed Presbyterian churches helped with getting the foundation ready and pouring the floor. The Adult team from 3rd CRC Denver came during Spring Break to frame the two story classroom and parsonage. A group from Oak Harbor CRC came the next week to work on the electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall, and shingle the roof.
Since the inauguration in June, we have had two more groups: a youth team from Denver; and a team from Rusk CRC, Zeeland; come and work on finishing the drywall and painting. The finished building is a bright peach and blue oasis in a dry and dusty community.

Vacation Bible School
This July we had an exciting Vacation Bible School at “Agua Viva.” We had help from the Mother Church, “Cristo Arca de Salvacion”; the youth team from Denver; four summer interns; and a puppet team made up of young people from various local churches. We had no clue how many children would show up since the mission was so new. The first morning we were surprised as wave after wave of children came. They kept coming, 158 children in all the first day! There were also many mothers who stayed all morning with their children. We started a separate adult class on Tuesday, and had as many as 30 parents learning the same lessons as the children. The final count was 268 different children and adults who attended the VBS!

Some of the adults from the VBS class were so interested in continuing studying the Bible, that we started a study of the Gospel of John on Monday mornings. Those who attend are very interested in learning more. Several have prayed to accept the living water Jesus offers. We are excited about the mission “Agua Viva” bringing new and abundant life found only in Christ.

Prayer and Praise
1. We are thankful for all the help in getting the new mission up and running!
2. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend two weeks in August in Michigan on vacation visiting family and friends.
3. Pray for the “Prince of Peace” Congregation, they are starting a two year plan to officially organize as a church.

In His Service,


Scott and Marcia Geurink

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in the Geurink family and our work in Tijuana, Mexico. We have been working as church planters and developers with Christian Reformed World Missions since 1991. We arrived in Tijuana in January of 1993, after a year of Spanish Language learning in Costa Rica. When we arrived in Tijuana there was one established church, one congregation, and one small mission. One of our main goals has been to help the Presbyterian Reformed Church of Mexico establish a Presbytery (like a classis) here in Tijuana. Currently our churches are included in a Presbytery which extends farther south than Mexico City.

Tijuana continues to grow at an astounding rate; about 1000 people a day arrive by bus or plane. Many come with the hope of crossing the border into the U.S. but others come looking for work in a factory. These new immigrants have many needs and an openness to the gospel not seen in other parts of Mexico. The church has also grown in the past years, by starting missions in the new communities which spring up almost daily.

Currently there are three established churches, four congregations (with members, a pastor, and a steering committee), and three missions. We need a total of five established churches to form our own Presbytery.

We are involved personally in evangelism, home Bible studies, outreach programs to the community (VBS programs, sewing classes, parenting classes etc.) and in leading and training leaders for discipleship classes. We host several work teams each year to help with the actual construction of the church buildings. Along with national pastors, we have been instrumental in starting the "Emanuel" church and the "Prince of Peace" congregation. We are currently looking for property to begin a new mission in the near future.

Our three children have grown up in Tijuana, attending local Mexican schools through the 9th grade, after which we do home school. Our children are also active in evangelism and participate in the youth group at church and the praise team. Daniel recently graduated from high school and is in Colorado working this summer. He will begin studying at Calvin College this fall.

We are encouraged by the growth in the churches and growth in the lives of individuals as their lives are changed by the Gospel. Please pray that the church will continue to grow and mature, and that new families will come to Christ, and for more Mexican pastors. Thank you for your interest in Mexico.